How Photojournalism Killed Kevin Carter (2015)
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How Photojournalism Killed Kevin Carter (2015)
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Re: How Photojournalism Killed Kevin Carter (2015)
#2Photographs that are hard to view, but should be viewed.
Re: How Photojournalism Killed Kevin Carter (2015)
#3most photos and films were too inhumane for mainstream media. A few acquaintances sold most of their material, recorded on a trip paid by some news agency or another to cover the war du jour, to exploitation gore producers. like the "faces of death" series, who could buy the footage for close to nothing after it was rejected by a single news outlet, and then sells it as VHS compilation.
Re: How Photojournalism Killed Kevin Carter (2015)
#4Is it possible to know if it’s morally right to take & share photos of a person in such a state of starvation and without real permission from the person.
My perception thinks it’s cruel as if the existence of the person is for the benefit of human existence to progress but this person was to suffer so harsh for it if so and without any choice in the matter of wanting the photo shared.. if there was any benefit in the end.
Also if there is potential positivity for humanity that overrides personal permission, maybe all human dread should be forever documented by some type of medium forever. Seems impossible to know and justify whatever side. Someone could have taken a photo or video of the suicide of the photographer and shared it online. I can assume that would be upsetting but maybe bring awareness more so than what did happen or is writing equivalent?
Re: How Photojournalism Killed Kevin Carter (2015)
#5I used to do that job for Reuters, while I didn’t do Africa, I did cover a lot of the Texas death penalty cases in the late 1990s as well as various natural disasters. It’s a tough business. But you have to be detached enough or the world never knows the truth. My good friend Adrees Latif (multiple Pulitzer winner,) covered the violence in Myanmar, the migrant caravans and a bunch of other tough stories and it can definitely take its toll, but it’s a vital profession. One photo can change the world as Eddie Adams proved in Vietnam.
Re: How Photojournalism Killed Kevin Carter (2015)
#6Is it possible to know if it’s morally right to take & share photos of a person in such a state of starvation and without real permission from the person. My perception thinks it’s cruel as if the existence of the person is for the benefit of human existence to progress but this person was to suffer so harsh for it if so and without any choice in the matter of wanting the photo shared.. if there was any benefit in th…
The cruelty is in causing these scenarios, not documenting them. If anything, sweeping them under the rug by not photographing them makes the situation so much worse, as unseen horrors are much easier to ignore.
Most newspapers have strict rules around reporting suicide specifically to reduce copycats, not out of respect for the dead.
Re: How Photojournalism Killed Kevin Carter (2015)
#7Graphic photo warning.
Re: How Photojournalism Killed Kevin Carter (2015)
#8I used to do that job for Reuters, while I didn’t do Africa, I did cover a lot of the Texas death penalty cases in the late 1990s as well as various natural disasters. It’s a tough business. But you have to be detached enough or the world never knows the truth. My good friend Adrees Latif (multiple Pulitzer winner,) covered the violence in Myanmar, the migrant caravans and a bunch of other tough stories and it can de…
That photo by Eddie Adams is not the best example of photojournalism being a good thing. According to
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Execution_of_Nguyễn_Văn_Lém
“Max Hastings, writing in 2018, noted that Lém was in civilian clothes and was alleged to have just cut the throats of South Vietnamese Lt Col Nguyen Tuan, his wife, their six children and the officer’s 80-year-old mother.[7]
According to Article 4 of the Third Geneva Convention of 1949, irregular forces are entitled to prisoner of war status provided that they are commanded by a person responsible for his subordinates, have a fixed distinctive sign recognizable at a distance, carry arms openly, and conduct their operations in accordance with the laws and customs of war. If they do not meet all of these, they may be considered francs-tireurs (in the original sense of "illegal combatant") and punished as criminals in a military jurisdiction, which may include summary execution”
So by the circumstances, the execution was likely completely justified and in keeping with the Geneva Convention, but the photo did not present that context. As such, it served as North Vietnamese propaganda and undermined the entire US war effort.
Re: How Photojournalism Killed Kevin Carter (2015)
#9[dead]
Re: How Photojournalism Killed Kevin Carter (2015)
#10There is a really great documentary about Kevin Carter and the bang bang club called "when under fire, shoot back" [0]
It's much better than the fictionalized version that TFA references. Although it doesn't seem to be widely available so it might be a bit of a chore to hunt down.